Week in Review

Writing Assignment 2 – Divine Revelation (PART 3)

God’s word shows man’s history with God from Adam and Eve’s time in the garden through the Israelites and their journey. It shows God’s plan for mankind and how God will eventually close the curtain on time, as we understand it. Part of that revelation was that he would send his son into the world to redeem it. Therefore, Jesus’ entry into the world fulfills the promise God gave to his people. “Even though God could no longer allow them to live in their cozy paradise, he still sent them off with promises of love, protection, and of a savior who would one day win back for them and their descendants the gifts that they had thrown away. A strange God, indeed, when you consider the idea of gods that people worshiped at the time the Bible was written” (Girzone, 14).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4). “Likewise, the truth and authenticity of the New Testament cannot be understood if the advent of Jesus of Nazareth is detached from the universal picture of the entry of God into the world, for the very fact is that the revelation of Jesus of Nazareth implies from man a previous comprehension of the mystery of God and the progressive revealing of Himself” (Dotolo, 18). “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). God revealed himself through his son to show men not only his love of them, but to show them the way in which they should walk. Jesus became the living example of what God wanted from all men. “The synthesis of this is realized by Jesus Christ, Word made flesh. With Him the historical peculiarity takes on a character that goes beyond the limits of time and space in becoming good news for every man” (Dotolo, 21).

When men understand how God reveals himself, through nature and all that he created, it draws men to ask deeper questions about themselves. As men begin to question the world they live in, it gives an opening for individuals to hear the calling of God. When God has gotten the attention of individuals that he goes seeking for, they can be reconciled back to a right relationship with God. It is in this personal walk, that men can learn more about God through their experience and insight. “Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition, which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what sin? Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going…Religious experience is part of that deep perception that man has of the truth and of the sense of his being and existence, of what he does and of the global destiny of his history. A perception of inhabiting the world and the history that conceals a meaning, a truth that cannot be reduced to how much a person can succeed in perceiving, but pursues him so that in the care of himself, of the world, and of the other, he might start a journey, or make an exodus, called by the Mystery that innervates reality. In the original context of the religious experience, man does not live the dream of knowledge as simple control of what is different, whose result can consist either in the magic manipulation of such knowledge or in the declaration of it as not pertinent to his existence. Rather, religious experience allows an open relationship that produces a different way of being and existing, because it puts man at the heart of reality itself, from an angle of observation in which the things themselves appear supported by other perspectives in comparison with the only human logic” (Dotolo, 9).

It is through this personal experience that one acquires a deeper understanding of God and his attributes. “Perhaps the most important statement of the approach may be found in Emil Brunner’s Truth as Encounter, which sets out the idea of revelation as a personal communication of God – that is to say, a communicationor impartation of the personal presence of God within the believer. ‘The Lordship and love of God can be communicated in no other way than by God’s self-giving’…Revelation concerns the conveying of God’s personal presence, rather than mere information concerning God” (McGrath, pp. 204-205).

Why does God take such care in revealing himself to mankind? This question can be answered in many ways, yet any answer would lead back to his love for man. God loves mankind enough to pursue them and reveal his mysteries to them. God reveals himself to those that are in relationship with him and gives them guidance through his Spirit. His Spirit empowers them to discern what is truth and what is not. God does all this because of his love for mankind. God uses many ways to show himself to men. Believers hold to God’s word as the most important way of understanding God. The Holy Scriptures were given to guide men and women. As one encounters other ways in which God reveals himself, the believer always compares these understandings with the word of God as the guideline for understanding. It is for this reason that God reveals himself to men, “That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17). Even though this verse is referring to the use of scripture, it can be said that all that God does for men, is to equip them to walk worthy of his ways.

Work Cited

Dotolo, Carmelo (2006). Christian Revelation. Aurora, CO, USA: Davies Group Publishers.

Girzone, Joseph F. (2004). Trinity.Westminster, MD, USA: Doubleday Publishing.

McGrath, Alister E. (2001). Christian Theology – An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Moore, Andrew. (2003). Realism and Christian Faith : God, Grammar, and Meaning.

West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Samuelson, Norbert Max. (2002). Revelation and the God of Israel. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. (1988). The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc.

Week in Review

Writing Assignment 2 – Divine Revelation (PART 2)

The people understood that God was unique from all other gods. He was a faithful and trustworthy God. “This God has a distinct character — he is who he is — to which he will be faithful and which he reveals in his historical actions. Not only does God name his presence as active being, but his name also discloses his essentially relational nature. The Baptist scholar Gwynne Henton Davies explains that the Hebrew words ‘have the quite practical meaning I am who and what, and where and when, and how and even why you will discover I AM. I am what you will discover me to be’…God already is in himself what he intends and promises to be in his deeds through and among his people. The text implies that this is and will be the case and that it is and will be manifest historically; hence we can expect to be able to ‘read’ his acts as an assertion of his character and as leading to the fulfillment of his promise. Using language from speech act theory, we can say that God’s revelation of his name is assertive of his being, and a commissive promise to act in faithfulness to his being. God’s nature is expressed in his unbreakable word: that he means to be his word is implied by his promise, and that he will keep it is implied in his self-assertion” (Moore, 167).

God revealed himself to the Israelites and their history became available for all to understand God’s move in times past and what it means for today. “…the history. God’s revelation becomes part of the concreteness of daily life, in the language and in the mentality of a people, showing what the meaning of the flowing of days is. “History, therefore, becomes the arena where we see what God does for humanity. God comes to us in the things we know best and can verify most easily, the things of our everyday life, apart from which we cannot understand ourselves” (Dotolo, pp. 20 – 21). God also showed himself to the Israelites to establish a relationship with them for their good. “In establishing a priesthood for Israel, God assured that the priests would provide guidance for his people, especially with respect to their continuous instruction in his law. This priesthood and their assistants, the scribes, were the teaching authority, or the official magisterium, of the religion God set up for them. As long as the priests and scribes remained loyal to God, they were also faithful in communicating God’s wishes to his people. However, at times when the teaching authority slipped away from its responsibility and did not reflect the will of God for his people, God then bypassed the religious authorities and used prophets to deliver messages directly to the people” (Girzone, pp. 15 – 16).

“In time past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; in this, the final age, he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he has made heir of all things and through whom he first created the universe” (Dotolo, 20). God also reveals himself through his Son, Jesus Christ. Before touching on Jesus, one must first look at the Bible or the word of God as he reveals himself to humanity. God showed himself to the Israelites and thus began the process of writing down the word of God as he revealed it to individuals. The author, Norbert Max Samuelson in his book, Revelation and the God of Israel states, “Whatever the view is of God in general, the deity affirmed as the sole deity worthy of worship in these religions is the creator of the world, the revealer of sacred scriptures, and the redeemer of humanity. For Judaism, at least God as the creator is revealed both through the Hebrew Scriptures (especially the opening chapters of Genesis) and through nature (especially physical cosmology and cosmogony). The deity known in this way is a God of natural law whose will, identifiable with that law, is concerned equally with every creature, without differentiation, and primarily with the whole rather than any of its parts, be they animal, mineral, or vegetable. Hence, this is a deity knowable primarily as a God of justice. In contrast, God as the revealer is known through the words of the Hebrew Scriptures and the tradition of the interpretation of those words in biblical commentaries. This deity is a God of moral law whose will, identifiable with that law, has special concern for the Jewish people, with whom he has a special love relationship, comparable to that of a loving spouse or parent. Hence, this is a deity knowable primarily as a God of love. Whether or not it is coherent to claim that the same being is both the deity of universal law and the deity of concrete love is not obvious, and much of the discussion of theology in rabbinic texts deals with ways to reconcile these two characterizations of God” (12). Scripture confirms itself in these verses, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Work Cited

Dotolo, Carmelo (2006). Christian Revelation. Aurora, CO, USA: Davies Group Publishers.

Girzone, Joseph F. (2004). Trinity.Westminster, MD, USA: Doubleday Publishing.

McGrath, Alister E. (2001). Christian Theology – An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Moore, Andrew. (2003). Realism and Christian Faith : God, Grammar, and Meaning.

West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Samuelson, Norbert Max. (2002). Revelation and the God of Israel. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. (1988). The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc.

Week in Review

Writing Assignment 2 – Divine Revelation

What does it mean when one states, God reveals himself to men? How does God reveal himself to mankind? As individuals pursue the Bible they gain insight and information about God. God’s revelation of himself can also be seen in nature, through history, in Jesus and through personal insights. These different avenues of revelation can help individuals gain an understanding of God, which can cause them to seek him for directions to their lives. For the individuals that have taken the step of acceptance of this God as head of their lives, it can help them grow in the understanding of God and his purpose for their daily walk.


How do we answer this question? Author Alister E. McGrath in his book, Christian Theology – An Introduction states, “How can God be known? For some, God is to be sought out within the complexities and ambiguities of the world. The ‘human quest for God’ involves the careful weighing of evidence drawn from the natural world, including human reason and conscience. For others, human nature is limited in its abilities, and is unable to discern the existence or nature of God in this way. Humanity needs to be told what God is like” (200). Who then is responsible for telling mankind about God? God took this task and revealed himself to men. It is through divine revelation that man comes to understand God.

The author, Carmelo Dotolo in the book, Christian Revelation states, “What is the meaning of the term revelation and why is it so important for theology? What is the secret of its appeal and, at the same time, of the difficulty that its use provokes in the familiar lexicon with which man tries to read the world? Without doubt, it is a strange word that seems to hint at a reality not controllable by man; or, in any event, a reality normally distant from his vision of things” (1). “The issue being debated is fundamentally that of revelation – the Christian notion that God chooses to be known, and makes this possible through self-disclosure in nature and human history” (McGrath, 200).

If one accepts that the knowledge of God is made available because God chooses to reveal himself, then one must look at the different ways that God accomplishes these events. The first way is through nature. “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set they glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1). “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork” (Psalm 19:2). “The Earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness therefore, the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded in upon the seas, and established it upon the floods” (Psalm 24:1-2). These are only a few of the many verses of scripture written where men tell of their understanding of God through nature. “Might the study of the natural world lead to an increased appreciation of its creator?” (McGrath, 208). These biblical writers were able to gain greater appreciation of the creator through their understanding of what they saw in nature. “If God made the world, God’s ‘signature’ (so to speak) may be found within the created order” (McGrath, 209).

God reveals himself in nature to draw men to an understanding of his ownership of all. God shows himself to be a God of order. Seasons change at relatively the same time. The sun sets and rises each day. These all attest to a God of order. He also shows himself in nature to draw men. “God takes the initiative to provoke the search of man” (Dotolo, 19). This can also be understood when one reads Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” God revealed himself in times past as well as today, through nature to draw men to an understanding of his presence in the world. “In other words, the contemporary world itself invites us to take into account, even with all the different interpretative points of view, the reality of religious experience as the space for understanding the appeal and the mystery of existence. To look at such experience means to become aware of what the religious sciences agree to define as a structural, inalienable and conclusive dimension of human experience” (Dotolo, 8).

Another way that God reveals himself to men is through events or history. God’s people (the Israelites) were allowed to understand God as he revealed himself to them and as time progressed, they had their historical background to remind them of the attributes of God. The author, Andrew Moore in his book, Realism and Christian Faith: God, Grammar, and Meaning states, “the name revealed to Moses, YHWH, ehyeh asher ehyeh, and the narrative context in which it is given — that of the promise of the liberation of God’s people from slavery in Egypt — imply that God reveals himself, but that his self-revealing is a simultaneous self-veiling. God’s name reveals that he is unnamable, ungraspable, unencompassable. We may see God’s glory but not his essence. God remains veiled even in his self-unveiling:” (167).

The people of God were allowed to see the miracles of God, yet they knew that this God was above what they could see or think. Joseph Girzone in his book, Trinity remarks about one such miracle, “Those hundreds of thousands of people had to be fed miraculously during all those years. There was no food in the desert to satisfy the needs of that many people. The guidance and protection and comfort God gave his people during that time is also remarkable. The world has never known a god of such benevolence and care for his creatures” (15).

Work Cited

Dotolo, Carmelo (2006). Christian Revelation. Aurora, CO, USA: Davies Group Publishers.

Girzone, Joseph F. (2004). Trinity.Westminster, MD, USA: Doubleday Publishing.

McGrath, Alister E. (2001). Christian Theology – An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Moore, Andrew. (2003). Realism and Christian Faith : God, Grammar, and Meaning. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Samuelson, Norbert Max. (2002). Revelation and the God of Israel. West Nyack, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. (1988). The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc.